With the increasing bandwidth provided by an enhancement to mobile communications infrastructure, as networks migrate from 2G to 3G networks, there is a requirement for a facility for distributing digital content to mobile users, in a way which supports the rights of the content provider. One example of content may be a video clip or film, which a user may wish to download for viewing or copying. Other examples include multimedia content, which may combine audio, video and interactive data.
An increasing concern of content providers is that revenue is being lost through illegal pirate copying which is facilitated by the digital format of content and the availability of equipment such as personal computers which can be used to easily generate high quality copies of content. Therefore, although there is an increasing requirement to distribute content productions to users, there is also concern that the distribution of this content should not give rise to a proliferation in copying and unauthorised reproducing. The management and control of the rights in content is therefore required, which is referred to generally as digital rights management. The distribution of content is usually associated with a licence, which determines the conditions under which reproduction of that content may be made and/or conditions under which the content may be copied. For example, the content may be reproduced only once or may be reproduced many times and copied only once. Alternatively, content may be reproduced any number of times and may be copied freely.
The combination of an increased demand for content which should be delivered to mobile users in combination with a requirement to manage the rights in that content requires a facility for securely distributing the content and managing the rights in the content once delivered.